leapfrog

American  

[leep-frog, -frawg] / ˈlipˌfrɒg, -ˌfrɔg /

noun

1. a game in which players take turns in leaping over another player bent over from the waist.

2. an advance from one place, position, or situation to another without progressing through all or any of the places or stages in between.

   a leapfrog from bank teller to vice president in one short year.

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verb (used with object)

leapfrogged, leapfrogging

1. to jump over (a person or thing) in or as if in leapfrog.

   He leapfrogged the fence to reach the crying child.

2. to move or cause to move as if in leapfrog.

   Manufacturers are leapfrogging prices because the cost of raw materials has doubled.

verb (used without object)

leapfrogged, leapfrogging

1. to move or advance in or as if in leapfrog.

   Our tour leapfrogged through six cities in four days.

leapfrog British  

/ ˈliːpˌfrɒɡ /

noun

1. a children's game in which each player in turn leaps over the others' bent backs, leaning on them with the hands and spreading the legs wide

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verb

1. 1. (intr) to play leapfrog

   2. (tr) to leap in this way over (something)

2. to advance or cause to advance by jumps or stages

Other Word Forms

• leapfrogger noun

Etymology

Origin of leapfrog

First recorded in 1590–1600; leap + frog ¹

Example Sentences

For Microsoft stock sentiment to improve, those models need to “take a leapfrog above where Gemini 3 is today,” Stucky said.

From MarketWatch

In the recent private meetings, some analysts urged Navratil to turn over the top managers he’d leapfrogged to take the top job.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sunderland missed the chance to leapfrog Manchester United and Chelsea but sit seventh, just four points outside the top four.

From Barron's

The song has famously achieved every position in the Top 20 except for number one; and strong streaming numbers could help it leapfrog the competition.

From BBC

“Concerns about China and others catching up or leapfrogging the U.S. in AI is something to keep in mind,” he says.

From Barron's

Related Words

• bounce
• dive
• drop
• fall
• hurdle
• plunge
• rise
• upsurge
• vault